Haughey accepted cash for favours - Report

The Moriarty Tribunal has concluded that the late Charles Haughey accepted cash in return for favours during his political career.

In a report out today, the tribunal says Mr Haughey received secret payments totalling 171 times his gross salary between 1979 and 1996.

The funds available to him have been calculated at more than £9m (€11.4m), when his annual salary was just £53,000 (€67,300)

The tribunal says the sums paid to the former Taoiseach were worth €45m in today's money.

In return for the secret payments, the tribunal says Mr Haughey did a number of favours for wealthy businessmen.

He systematically intervened with the Revenue Commissioners on behalf of Ben Dunne so the supermarket owner could pay less tax at a time when Ireland was on its knees.

The tribunal also says a £50,000 (€63,500) payment he received from a Saudi diplomat and businessman in 1985 was corrupt.

Mr Haughey claimed he received the money as payment for a horse, but the tribunal found it was actually linked to the former Taoiseach supporting passport applications by some of Mahmoud Fustok's relatives.